Sioux Falls School District to implement dress code at Axtell Park this year

Students at one Sioux Falls school will have to start wearing uniforms to conform to a new standard dress code when classes start up again on Aug. 25.

Those in the Axtell Park building, which houses a program serving middle and high school students who the district determines as “most at-risk of not graduating," will have to start wearing uniforms on the first day of school.

Axtell Park changed from a regular middle school ending in the 2013-2014 school year, to housing alternative programs the following year. Axtell Park’s FLEX program is one of the school sites with the highest rates of poverty in the district, according to free and reduced lunch calculations by the South Dakota Department of Education.

According to a copy of the dress code provided by a parent at Axtell Park, students will be required to wear blue, black or khaki pants with no holes, and a gray Axtell T-shirt, long sleeve shirt or sweatshirt, which will be provided. More shirts will be available for purchase from the office at a cost of $4.50 for a T-shirt, $8.50 for a long sleeve shirt or $11.50 for a sweatshirt.

Leggings, shorts, writing on pants and wearing a sweatshirt or shirt over or under the Axtell shirt aren’t allowed.

The dress code won’t impact those in the Joe Foss at Axtell Park program, district spokeswoman DeeAnn Konrad said. The Joe Foss program is an alternative option for high school students that offers an individualized and alternative approach to help ensure students earn their high school diploma through a hybrid model of instruction.

Konrad said the dress code and other changes are being implemented to help students, particularly those with behavioral challenges, to graduate.

"Over the past two years, we have reviewed our practices and structures for students with significant behavioral challenges," she said. "Improvements are being implemented to help them stay on track to complete high school and receive a diploma. This is one of the strongest themes that emerged from the parent feedback we received last year —support kids who are struggling to graduate."

What happens if students don’t follow the new dress code?

High schoolers not following the dress code won’t be allowed in the building beyond the main office, where they can call a family member to bring them appropriate clothing. Middle schoolers not following the dress code won’t be allowed into class, and their parents or guardians will be contacted to bring in the appropriate clothing.

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After three dress code violations, a “problem-solving meeting” will be scheduled with parents to address concerns with following the dress code, according to the policy sent to Axtell Park students and families on July 14 from Brianna Copley, dean of students for the school.

Holona Fast Horse, a parent at Axtell, said it’s not right that Axtell students are being “bullied into complying” with a new uniform policy this school year.

“No other schools in this district are forcing any of the students to wear uniforms,” she said. “These children deserve to be treated equally like the rest of their peers.”

Lena Peters, a parent at Axtell, said implementing a new uniform removes students’ individuality and creates further stereotypes for them.

“The ‘bad kid’ image couldn’t be further from the truth,” Peters said. “Also, the large number of children with sensory processing issues (at the school) now have just a few days to adapt to new fabrics, textures, colors or deal with the consequences; it’s unreasonable and thoughtless.”

What else is changing at Axtell? Mental health support, for one

When asked about the dress code and other changes coming to Axtell Park this school year, Konrad pointed to a June 13 school board presentation on the subject from assistant superintendent Jamie Nold.

Nold’s presentation did not include information on the new dress code, but did include information about a review that’s been underway since the spring of 2020 on Axtell’s student placement programs.

In the two years since that review began, the district has settled on improvements to implement to help students with significant behavioral challenges stay on track to complete high school and receive a diploma, Konrad explained.

Two committees, one for middle and one for high school, each brought together 17 people from the school administration, central administration, contract employees, counselors, teachers and success coordinators who all identified what is needed to benefit students at Axtell, and who all toured or visited similar programs, including one at Lincoln Public Schools in Lincoln, Nebraska.

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The committees identified that students need mental health and counseling support, a structured day, additional elective options, support for classrooms and teachers, and a better-defined referral and integration process to succeed.

To address student mental health, Nold said Axtell will utilize a community partnership with Avera Behavioral Health to hire two interns and a supervisor who are all mental health therapists to be present in the school three partial days each week to provide mental health therapy sessions for students.

Nold also said the district placed an additional school psychologist, school social worker and school counselor in Axtell, who will assist with mental health and academic support, daily social skill classes and direct counseling to students, respectively.

More changes coming to Axtell this school year

Konrad said “improvements” coming to Axtell include core instruction schedules, leadership and accountability structures, the new dress code, and “opportunities for students to take more diverse subjects.”

Peters said she doesn’t agree with the way administration doled out information about the major changes coming to Axtell this school year in meetings held at the school Aug. 2 and Aug. 9.

“Removing the programs built to support our students, restructuring the school and intentionally hiding from the parents and students in my opinion is shameful,” she said. “We are supposed to be a team. This is not how a team works. Ultimately, our children suffer when there are breakdowns of this proportion.”

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Other changes Nold mentioned in his June 13 report include the reintegration and referral process; additional classes, programming and electives like in art; “increased safety measures;” additional bussing; better utilization of the Joe Foss and GED programs, and more.

The new, ongoing cost of changes will be $280,000, according to Nold’s presentation, with $200,000 to be offset by moving students who are currently placed at Summit Oaks Day Program, which helps students in grades 6-12 with their academic, social and behavior skills, to Axtell, then discontinuing that program.

Nold also said that one-time professional development, programming changes and training at a total of $150,000 will be paid through ESSER funds.

Support staff will be at Axtell Park to model and coach staff with students in the classrooms on Aug. 29-31, and from Nov. 2022 to June 2023, there will be two coaching visits to “support the fidelity of the program changes,” according to Nold’s presentation.

“We believe all students deserve the best opportunities,” Konrad said in a statement. “Regular attendance, positive behavior and self-image, and a strong focus on academic success are critical factors for the students who participate in the behavior programs at Axtell Park, now and in the future.”

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Axtell Park school in Sioux Falls to implement uniforms, dress code